HARASSMENT

The Montville Board of Education wants all students to learn in an environment free from all forms of harassment and bullying. Unwelcome verbal or physical interaction from anyone is against Board of Education policy, state and federal laws. Any student who believes they have experienced harassment or have been bullied needs to report the alleged misconduct immediately to their teacher, administrator, school nurse or any other adult they feel comfortable with so that proper measures may be taken to address the issue.

BULLYING BEHAVIOR IN THE SCHOOLS

In accordance with state law, it is the policy of the Montville Board of Education that any form of bullying behavior, whether in the classroom, on school property or at school-sponsored events, is expressly forbidden.

Students who engage in bullying behavior shall be subject to school discipline up to and including expulsion in accordance with the Board's policy on student discipline.

Formal Complaints &endash; Students and/or their parents or guardians may file written reports of conduct that they consider to be bullying. Such written reports shall be reasonably specific as to the actions giving rise to the suspicion of bullying, including time and place of the conduct alleged, the number of such incidents, the target of such suspected bullying, and the names of any potential student or staff witnesses. Such reports may be filed with any teacher or administrator, and they shall be promptly forwarded to the building principal or his/her designee for review and action in accordance with Section IV below.

Informal Complaints &endash; Students may make informal complaints of conduct that they consider to be bullying by verbal report to a teacher or administrator. Such informal complaints shall be reasonably specific as to the actions giving rise to the suspicion of bullying, including time and place of the conduct alleged, the number of such incidents, the target of such suspected bullying, and the names of any potential student or staff witnesses. A teacher, other professional employee, or administrator who receives an informal complaint shall promptly reduce the complaint to writing, including the information provided. Such written report by the teacher, other professional employee and/or administrator shall be promptly forwarded to the building principal or his/her designee for review and action in accordance with Section IV below.

Anonymous Complaints &endash; Students who make informal complaints as set forth above may request that their name be maintained in confidence by the teacher(s) and administrator(s) who receive the complaint. Should anonymity be requested, the principal or his/her designee shall meet with the student to review the request for anonymity and the impact that maintaining anonymity of the complaint may have on the investigation of the complaint and/or possible remedial action. At such meeting, the student shall be given the choice as to whether to maintain the anonymity of the complaint. Anonymous complaints shall be reviewed and reasonable action will be taken to address the situation, to the extent such action may be taken that (1) does not disclose the source of the complaint, and (2) is consistent with the due process rights of the student(s) alleged to have committed acts of bullying.

Disciplinary Interventions &endash; When acts of bullying are verified and a disciplinary response is warranted, students are subject to the full range of disciplinary consequences. Anonymous complaints that are not otherwise verified, however, shall not be the basis for disciplinary action.

In-school suspension and suspension may be imposed only after informing the accused perpetrator of the reasons for the proposed suspension and giving him/her an opportunity to explain the situation.

Expulsion may be imposed only after a hearing before the Board of Education, a committee of the Board or an impartial hearing officer designated by the Board of Education in accordance with Board policy. This consequence shall be reserved for serious incidents of bullying and/or when past interventions have not been successful in eliminating bullying behavior.

Reporting Obligations

A. Report to the parent or guardian of the perpetrator. If after an investigation, acts of bullying by a specific student are verified, the building principal or his/her designee shall notify the parent or guardian of the perpetrator in writing of that finding. If disciplinary consequences are imposed against such student, a description of such discipline shall be included in such notification.

B. Reports to the victim and his/her parent or guardian. If after investigation, acts of bullying against a specific student are verified, the building principal or his/her designee shall notify the parent or guardian of the victim of such finding. In providing such notification, care must be taken to respect the statutory privacy rights of the perpetrator of such bullying. The specific disciplinary consequences imposed on the perpetrator, as reflected in the student's educational records, shall not be disclosed to the parents or guardian of the victim, except as provided by law.

C. List of verified acts of bullying. The principal or his/her designee of each school shall maintain a list of the number of verified acts of bullying in the school, and this list shall be available for public inspection upon request. Given that any determination of bullying involves repeated acts over time, each report prepared in accordance with Section III (1) above that includes verified acts of bullying shall be tallied as one verified act of bullying unless the specific actions that are the subject of the report involve separate and distinct acts of bullying. The list shall be limited to the number of such verified acts of bullying in the school, and it shall not set out the particulars of each verified act, including but not limited to any personally identifiable student information, which is confidential information by law.

CONSEQUENCES FOR BEHAVIOR

All behavior has consequences. At Oakdale we try to accent positive behavior of our students with rewards and privileges. However, when students' behavior does not meet the minimum behavior standards consequences will be forth coming. At Oakdale we believe that consequences for poor behavior should be a learning situation for the student. Consequences can include but not be limited to, loss of recess time, after-school detention, loss of privileges, time outs and when necessary, suspension from school or bus privileges for up to 10 days as decided by an administrator. In serious cases the Board of Education can expel a student for up to 180 days.